A report out today in the Independent on Sunday says that birds of prey are being poisoned or shot in the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales at a rate unknown in any other region in the UK, according to the latest RSPB figures.

The headline is actually quite a misleading statement. Perhaps what it should say is that reports of raptor persecution are highest in North Yorkshire than any other region. We know only too well that reporting and recording is done very differently between regions, and these differences do not neccessarily reflect what is actually happening on the ground.

The latest figures come from the RSPB’s annual Birdcrime report, Birdcrime 2010, which is due to be published on Thursday, so it’s difficult to assess the findings until the report has been released. However, according to the IoS article, “Almost 10 per cent of the 117 incidents against 11 species last year took place in the county, which has consistently recorded high rates of such crime, according to the RSPB“.

The article continues: “The number of reported incidents in North Yorkshire doubled between 2009 and 2010, from 27 to 54, with 10 confirmed cases of bird of prey persecutions. These include the poisoning of four red kites and three buzzards and the shooting of a goshawk. Two-week old chicks [of what species?] were also found laced with a banned pesticide and left as bait in the Yorkshire Dales.”

An RSPB spokesman lays the blame firmly at the feet of intensive upland grouse moors; a BASC spokesman denied the extent of the problem and said “the gamekeeper is a convenient scapegoat.”

All depressingly familiar. The bottom line is, despite the overwhelming evidence of widespread criminal raptor persecution, it is still not possible to get a meaningful prosecution. Until this happens, we will continue to read these appalling statistics.

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Earlier this year, a subsidised pesticide and biocide disposal scheme was set up for a three month period (Jan-Mar), so that gamekeepers, farmers, pest controllers etc could safely and cheaply get rid of certain redundant and/or illegal substances. The scheme was organised by the bafflingly-named Project SOE (Security in the Operational Environment) and was supported by government funding, which allowed collection and disposal for the bargain rate of £20 per application.

It was pleasing to see that the scheme was supported by the National Gamekeepers Organisation and also the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, given the on-going and widespread problem of keepers using illegal pesticides, especially Carbofuran, to poison raptors and other wildlife. Credit to the two organisations for doing this (publicly supporting the disposal scheme, not poisoning raptors, obviously).

According to the Project SOE website, the scheme was so successful that it will now be continued for a further limited period, offering collection and disposal at favourable rates. The scheme could be viewed as a sort of ‘poisons amnesty’, with no questions asked of the participants. This seems too good an opportunity to miss and we hope that landowners and gamekeepers (and their representative organisations) will jump at the chance to advertise this extended scheme and participate in it if they haven’t already done so.

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How many of the eight Scottish police forces have a dedicated wildlife crime unit? How many of them have a full-time Wildlife Crime Officer? How many of them have a Wildlife Crime Education Officer? How many of them publish quarterly wildlife crime statistics for their region? Answer = not many. But one of them has all of the above, and more.

Grampian Police Force, covering the north-east region of Scotland, is way ahead of all the other Scottish police forces when it comes to tackling wildlife crime. This police force has employed a full-time Police Wildlife Crime Officer since 2006 – the excellent and highly effective Dave MacKinnon, who apparently stepped down earlier this year. Much of the Grampian Police Wildlife Crime Unit’s success is as a result of Dave’s hard work and commitment. In addition, there are up to 11 part-time Police Wildlife Crime Officers spread throughout the Grampian region.

In July 2010, Grampian Police appointed the UK’s first ever Wildlife Crime Education Officer to the Unit. Andy Turner, a former National Nature Reserve Manager with SNH, took on the three-year secondment to raise awareness of wildlife crime and to provide educational inititatives to schoolchildren and communities throughout the region.

As far as we know, Grampian Police is the only force that publishes quarterly wildlife crime statistics (see here), although oddly, these figures do not explicitly include raptor persecution incidents. The North East of Scotland has been recently reported as having some of the highest rates of wildlife crime in the UK (see here).

But the Grampian Police Wildlife Crime Unit is not content with just regional coverage of its own area. In recent months, it has worked to produce resource material that is useful to other police forces as well as to the general public. For example, it has produced a set of 11 ‘Aide-Memoir’ cards that have been issued to Wildlife Crime Officers throughout Scotland. These cards cover issues such as raptor persecution, badger persecution and deer poaching. Each card provides basic information on the subject, straightforward instructions on how to deal with alleged incidents, and contact details for specialist advice (see here).

In addition, it has produced an information card called ‘Wildlife Crime: How to Report It’. This card provides simple information, including a list of essential do’s and don’ts when at the scene of a suspected wildlife crime, as well as a list of contact details for every police force in Scotland. With the help of a PAW Scotland grant, Grampian Police has printed an initial 30,000 cards that are being distributed throughout Scotland (see here).

Grampian Police deserve recognition for their proactive stance on tackling wildlife crime. This police force puts many of the other Scottish police forces to shame. The Grampian Police Wildlife Crime Unit isn’t perfect, but then who is? What’s important is that this group has taken giant steps towards a zero tolerance policy on wildlife crime. Some might say, ‘Well, it’s their statutory duty to deal with wildlife crime so why are you congratulating them for doing what they’re supposed to be doing?‘ It’s a fair point, but when you compare what Grampian Police has been doing with what most of the other Scottish police forces have (or haven’t) been doing, then we would argue that Grampian Police has actually gone further than its statutory duties and has demonstrated a meaningful commitment far greater than any other police force in the UK, let alone in Scotland.

For further information about the Grampian Police Wildlife Crime Unit:

The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) are advertising a grouse keeper’s training course, to be held in November. Their advert for the training course includes the following statement:

“This highly acclaimed, practical training will take place on working estates in Glen Esk, Angus, where well respected grouse keepers, along with GWCT advisory and research staff, will impart their knowledge based on a wealth of experience“.

Glen Esk is, of course, where golden eagle ‘Alma’ was found poisoned two years ago (see here). She had been poisoned by Carbofuran. Police raided one of the three sporting estates in Glen Esk where Alma’s body was found (Millden Estate), but no arrests were made. A report in the Brechin Advertiser one month later (see here) included the following statement: “It had previously been confirmed by Tayside Police that the bird “certainly” picked up the poison in the local area“. It is not clear what this ‘certainty’ was based upon. Local residents apparently shared this view though, and Brechin Community Council vice-convenor, David Adam, was reported in the Advertiser article as saying: “I think it is fairly conclusive that the bird was poisoned and that the bird was poisoned in Glenesk“.

It is not known whether the police extended their investigations to the other two sporting estates in Glen Esk – Gannochy Estate and Invermark Estate. As far as anyone can tell, the police investigation is still on-going.

Interesting then, that the GWCT would select Glen Esk as the venue for their ‘highly acclaimed’ grouse keeper’s training course, don’t you think? And also interesting that Scottish Land and Estates and the Scottish Gamekeepers Association should choose to advertise this training course on their websites.

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In a feature article in the latest edition of Shooting Times, the Chairman of the National Gamekeepers Organisation, Lindsay Waddell, laments the sale of Millden Estate in Angus (see our earlier story about the sale here).

He questions the reasons behind the sale, “just as the moor is coming good“. It’s a strange description for an estate where two-year-old golden eagle Alma was found poisoned in 2009 (see here). His theory about why Millden has come on the market goes like this:

“It would appear the answer lies in the recent legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament which holds landowners liable for the actions of their staff [vicarious liability], and that is something, it appears, some will not entertain at any cost. So it’s sell up, and get out. It may well turn out to be a sad day for the inhabitants of many glens if more and more of the modern-day owners decide to take the same course of action“.

Interesting.

Waddell goes on to acknowledge that there are still landowners (he says “a few”, we say ‘too many’) who won’t manage their land without the use of [illegal] poison and says these individuals have to shoulder a lot of the blame for the introduction of vicarious liability. No disagreement there, Lindsay – the criminals within your industry are finally having to face the music after 60 long years of relentless and systematic illegal raptor persecution.

He also comments that the new legislation (vicarious liability) is ‘open to abuse’. He writes: “It is all very easy for items to be ‘found’ on a piece of land“. By ‘items’, does he mean poisoned birds and poisoned baits, and enormous caches of illegal poison? Much like what was found on Skibo Estate in 2010? The ‘items’ that Dean Barr, sporting manager at Skibo Estate, claimed in the press had been planted by the RSPB (see here)? Obviously his press statement was made before he was found guilty of possessing 10.5 kg of Carbofuran – the UK’s biggest haul of this banned pesticide to date (see here).

Waddell continues by suggesting that Millden may be the first of many Scottish sporting estates to be sold. Let’s hope so. I can think of more than just ‘a few’ whose closure is long overdue.

The BBC News website is running a story today about another poisoned peregrine. The young bird was apparently discovered three months ago at Whitecleaves Quarry near Buckfastleigh in Devon. The toxicology results, which have only just been released, indicate the bird was poisoned with the banned pesticides Carbofuran and Aldicarb.

This is the third reported poisoning incident in the region in recent weeks, following the reports of four poisoned goshawks and one buzzard in Devon (see here) and two poisoned peregrines in Cornwall (see here).

According to the BBC article, peregrines at Whitecleaves Quarry have been targeted before, with poisoned birds being discovered in 1992, 2004 and 2005.

Devon & Cornwall police are investigating the latest incident, and the RSPB has once again put up a £1,000 reward for information leading to a conviction.

The obvious question – why has it taken three months for this incident to be publicised?